Feb 25 Picks of the Week: February 26, 2018

ALEX'S PICK

Mountain Dew has announced that actor and comedian Kevin Hart will become the new face of the Mountain Dew Kickstart Energy Drink. In this role, Kevin will bring one Mountain Dew fan and their friend “Closer than Courtside” at the NBA Playoffs who will be his new “CourtSideKick”. Through March 19th, fans can enter the #CourtSidekickContest by creating a social post showing Kevin and Mountain Dew KICKSTART why they're the perfect #CourtSidekick and tagging #CourtSidekickContest on social media. The campaign will include a 360-degree marketing campaign including TV, digital, social and experiential and integration with Kevin Hart’s latest comedy tour. Mountain Dew kicked off the campaign during NBA All Star Weekend in Los Angeles, where Kevin began the nationwide search for the new CourtSidekick, giving fans the chance to score access to courtside seats in the NBA Playoffs.

Kevin Hart is one of the most popular Actors on social media with over 116 million followers on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. With this partnership, Mountain Dew looks to leverage Hart’s vibrant and energetic personality to be the new face of the brand. Mountain Dew has reinforced their relationship with the NBA by capitalizing on Hart’s organic relationship with the league and his love for the game. As seen in numerous interviews, media appearances and comedy sketches, Kevin Hart often shares his opinion on the NBA. This partnership with Kevin Hart allows Mountain Dew to authenticate their brand positioning through an ambassador who is passionate about the game of basketball.

DEREK'S PICK

This campaign involved the launch of his ‘Falcon Heavy’ rocket, the flagship of his private space-flight company SpaceX, and the subsequent debut of its payload—a Tesla Roadster driven by a dummy nicknamed Starman—as the first car in space. The launch was live streamed via YouTube where 14.8 million viewers tuned in to Musk’s own cherry-red 2008 Tesla Roadster circling the Earth.

The stunt is similar to Red Bull’s Stratos mission, where skydiver Felix Baumgartner jumped from a balloon capsule 24 miles and landed safely, all while being shown live and cover by Red Bull branding. By comparison, Tesla’s stunt isn’t as heavily branded as Red Bulls’, but it’s certainly more ambitious, costing up to $500 million in investment by Space X to develop and launch the Falcon Heavy.